What Mamdani Gets Wrong About Arab Citizens of Israel

New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani believes the phrase “globalize the intifada” speaks to “a desperate desire for equality and equal rights in standing up for Palestinian human rights.”  

Intercept writer Youssef Munayyer wrote, “By refusing to capitulate on ‘globalize the intifada,’ Mamdani rejected a long tradition of demonizing Arabic language.” 

The problem is that the actual intifada Israel experienced 20 years ago meant suicide bombings and destruction. Moreover, it was not a desire for equality, but an attempt to wipe out the state of Israel.

Indeed, the original meaning of the “Nakba” was the catastrophe of having any Jewish state on what were perceived to be Arab lands. This is why the Arab population in Mandatory Palestine and all the surrounding Arab states rejected any compromise, even the 1936 British proposal for a Jewish state on only 12 percent of the Palestine mandate; and it is the reason why the vast majority of people in Arab states still reject the existence of Israel.

American Jews, particularly those on college campuses, are experiencing the true meaning of “globalize the intifada.” It promotes the use of aggressive legal and extralegal tactics to confront Jews and Jewish institutions. It means harassing Jews whenever possible, including disrupting their events, their dining, their social relations through doxxing, and vandalizing Jewish property. It often includes physical violence, and also includes deadly actions, like in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and Colorado. While Mamdani publicly deplores these killings, he is quite comfortable with the personal harassment and the other “nonviolent” and often illegal activities.

Mamdani rejects Israel because he claims it favors Jews over its Arab citizens. Zionism has certainly meant that Israel has exclusively Jewish national symbols and grants citizenship to any Diaspora Jew who immigrates. In contrast, descendants of Arabs who were displaced during the 1948 war (which they started) are not allowed to return. However, Arab and Jewish citizens in Israel are treated equally.  

Despite having a Jewish majority, a considerable Arab population will always remain in Palestine. If things fare badly for this group of inhabitants, then things will fare badly for the entire country. The political, economic, and cultural welfare of the Arabs will thus always remain one of the main conditions for the well-being of the Land of Israel.

Thanks to aggressive and persistent affirmative action programs over the last 20 years, Arab citizens have been substantially integrated into the fabric of the country, especially in the medical and hi-tech areas. They are members of the Supreme Court and were part of the ruling coalition in the previous administration. They are senior officials in the Israeli police and in hospitals throughout the country, and Arab Nazareth is a high-tech hub.

This has led Arab citizens to become closer to the state, especially after the beginning of the Gaza War. Immediately after the October 7th slaughter, Arab leaders publicly voiced their sympathies with the Jewish victims – and when the war began, they volunteered to aid the war effort. In the mixed cities, there was Jewish-Arab unity rather than the violence that was experienced during the 2021 Gaza War. 

 A May 2024 survey found “just over half of Arab Israelis (51.6%) felt that the prolonged war against Hamas had given rise to a sense of ‘shared destiny’ between Arab and Jewish citizens of Israel.” 

Of course, there are still significant gaps between Jewish and Arab citizens. However, Arab citizens are treated far more fairly in Israel than Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and Jordan. In Lebanon, all Palestinians are stateless and face severe restrictions, even those born there. 

A UNRWA report stated: “Palestine refugees in Lebanon are socially marginalized, have very limited civil, social, political, and economic rights, including restricted access to the government of Lebanon’s public health, educational and social services and face significant restrictions on their right to work and right to own property.”

In Jordan, close to one million Palestinian refugees are stateless, most have their origins in Gaza. “Despite having lived in the country for decades – and even being born there – Jordan hasn’t granted them citizenship,” reported Shirin Jaafari. 

Palestinian refugees suffer deprivations because of political priorities. Rula Alhroob, a former member of the Jordanian Parliament and chairwoman of the human rights committee, said her advocacy for extending benefits to Palestinian refugees was met with fierce opposition within the government. They didn’t want to help Palestinians by giving those people access to all types of activities and normal living  – because they wanted them to eventually leave the land.

In 2023, the UN Human Rights Commission demanded that the right-of-return should continue to be given priority. Political scientist Nour Cherif contends, “The romanticised memories of exile and life before the Nakba are transmitted to future generations, who, although they no longer recognize themselves in these testimonies, use them as a driving force to claim the right of return.”

Mamdani, however, puts the blame entirely on Israel – and refuses to blame any other countries, or the Arab residents of the territory (and all the surrounding Arab states) that started the war in 1948 in an attempt to eliminate Israel. 

There are many other reasons to reject Mamdani, but his support for “globalizing the intifada” is certainly one of them.

Robert Cherry is an American Enterprise Institute affiliate and author of the forthcoming book, Arab Citizens of Israel: How Far Have They Come? (Wicked Son Press, Fall 2025).